Your proposal is quite good.

"Your proposal is quite good."

Sounds positive, right?

In Chinese business contexts, "quite good" (还不错) often means:

"Acceptable, but not impressive."

Translation: You need to improve before we commit.

Here's what happens next:

If you hear "quite good" as praise:

→ You wait for their yes

→ They wait for your improvements

→ Weeks pass with no movement

If you decode "quite good" correctly:

→ You ask clarifying questions immediately

→ You address gaps same week

→ Project moves forward

Same phrase. Different outcomes.

This is what the Hi-Mandarin teaches:

Recognition of signals that translators convert accurately

— but can't explain culturally.

→ Comment below: What Chinese business phrase confused you most?